So ive been thinking about getting a cat, i could use the companionship, but i like the idea of the animal being independant because i often go to fire schools on weekends and am in and out during the day after 12pm.

my friends mom found a aprox 2 week old kitten and i fell in love with it, before i ask my landlord and before i tell her yes (she isnt giving it away until a few weeks later) i wanted to get a feel exactly what i was getting into, itd be an indoor cat unless it turned out to be something like a maine coon, my dads got 3 of them, but any tips, advise, prep?

You need to spend time with any pet, even a cat. Your probably better getting a plant, because of your schedule. If you don't spend time with the kitten there is a good chance it will be wild and uncontrolable.

i do have time though, i usually dont even leave home till 2pm and get home about 10. i just have i guess busy months and empty ones when it comes to weekends, this month i have one busy weekend, next month im busy every weekend and october im busy 2 weekends and november im available all weekends.

do it, cats are great, my wifes cat died last year ( she was 22 and my wife was 28 when she died) it was quite a relationship they had, she thought he would never be able to get another one, well about 4 months later we adopted 2 kittens (brother and sister) i love them, they are tons of fun and very little work, they are at the door when i get home from work, on your lap when you want them there, yet very independant

I did the same thing a few years back because by schedule didn't allow for me to have a dog so I needed a fairly self sufficient animal. I found a kitten through the SPCA that was fostered. I'd never heard of such a thing but the kitten was already litter box trained, self feeding and was taught from the beginning not to claw furniture (some retraining required) but the initial training proved to be incredibly helpful! I lived alone and wanted a pet to liven up the place and a kitten certainly did that! They take minimal amounts of time but you do still have to care for them. Plan on some vet bills (heavy in the first year and typically just annual check ups afterwards unless they get sick), food costs, some toys, etc. I say go for it, it was a good choice for me.

I've had a couple cats. They are pretty independent animals and dont need as much attention as a dog. You dont need to train them where to go to the bathroom which is great. I have a similar schedule where I am gone most of the day and she's a good cat except for chewing on the occasional wire, but its a kitten..kittens chew. I really need to get her more toys

The firemen here spend about three or four days in a row at the station. Will you be having those kind of shifts?

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sorta kinda, those are those "booked weekends" leave friday and come on saturday evening or sunday. I do have someone that can care for them during those times though. right now i am fully volunteer and if i do get called out it usually does not last over 1.5 hours with our longest times being 5 or 6 hours.

if i can get a career job i will have a schedule to the tune of 6 months of 8-5 then on shift 24 on 48 off depending on who would hire me

just trying to get a feel and the opinions of others when it comes to having a pet, i want an animal companion, but i dont want it to be a trainwreck and have to give it away. i believe i do have time for one though

Dog owners want to be adored and cat owners want to be ignored. Pets are a lot of work. Unexpected vet bills suck. I'm not a cat person at all. Always a dog owner and it's a pain. Find people to watch pets when on vacation sucks.I vote NO!!!!!! I have a dog and bird along with a kid and it's mayhem from the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep. Enjoy not having the responsibility of a pet.

We have two black cats, two black cats with white bellies and a torby Norwegien Forest Cat. A total of five...they keep each other company. If we call N the number of cats we have, a crazy cat person will have N + 1 cats